HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center here could be closed and its programs merged with centers in Mississippi and Houston if a ranking Democrat on the House NASA oversight committee gets her way. U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md) will introduce an amendment as the full House Space Science & Technology Committee meets today calling for a commission to consider the merger, according to Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville).

That amendment is expected to be one of 35 debated before the committee today as it considers a NASA authorization act for the next two years. Brooks, vice chair of the committee's subcommittee on space, will oppose it, and Edwards is a minority party member on the Republican-dominated committee.

Brooks said in a statement today that Edwards "is upset that NASA's Earth Science budget (which affects her district) is targeted for cuts necessary to free up funds to help pay for the Space Launch System, the Orion capsule, the International Space Station, and various other human space flight activities."

Brooks said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chair of the committee, and Rep. Steve Palazzo (R-Virginia), chair of its NASA subcommittee, both oppose the Edwards' amendment and he is hoping for "a swift vote" to kill it.

"I informed Congressman Edwards that cutting America's welfare programs by a mere 1 percent would free up an additional $7 billion/year in funding for NASA," Brooks said. "I offered to help her in that regard. Unfortunately, she declined my offer of help."

Engine testing was moved to Stennis from Marshall during the space shuttle era, and Stennis reports to Marshall on engine testing. Marshall has more employees than Stennis and is active in other programs beyond the launch system. Edwards reportedly wants to move those programs to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

(This story was updated at 11:27 a.m. July 18, 2013 to provide more details about where NASA's 2014 budget stands in the House and Senate and again at 11:40 a.m. CDT to add a statement from Rep. Mo Brooks.)

(This story was updated at 12:22 p.m. CDT to reflect that the debate on NASA today is before the full House Space Science & Technology Committee, not its NASA oversight subcommittee, as earlier reported)